25/07/2016
NEWS STORY
New research has revealed that total ticket revenue for Formula One races rose to $644.7m last year, an increase of more than 6% on 2014's total of $606.4m.
The data also shows the long-term resilience of F1 as its total ticket revenue increased 35% over the past decade from $478.1m in 2006, leading to total combined ticket revenues of $6.2bn over the 10 year period.
The figures are revealed in the Formula Money Grand Prix Attendance Report, a first of its kind study which unveils the highest and lowest ticket prices and attendance data for every day of every F1 Grand Prix over the decade to 2015.
The British Grand Prix, which took place earlier this month at Silverstone, had the highest combined race-day attendance of any F1 event over the past decade. A total of 1.12m spectators passed through its gates during a period which saw British drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button win four championships between them. This put the British race just ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, which experienced cumulative attendance of 1.06m and was the season-opener in all but two of the years.
The report accumulates 10 years of research by Formula Money's experts, analysing the data to identify the key trends affecting race attendance over that period.
Analysis of the highest and lowest ticket prices for every race from 2006 to 2015 shows that total receipts have risen by an average of 4.2% annually despite a growing number of competing leisure options and a dip in attendance due to the 2008 recession.
Cumulative attendance at F1 races hit a low of 2.7m in 2009 in the wake of the global economic downturn. It has been boosted since then by the addition of new races and growth in the existing ones.
The rising revenue is good news for the race organisers as they receive the income from ticket sales. Each race is independently operated and the organisers gather their own attendance data so it has not been possible to get a complete picture until now.
Growing ticket revenues make the sport increasingly attractive to new races. Last year the Mexican Grand Prix returned after a 23-year hiatus and its total attendance of 335,850 made it the most popular race of 2015. It drove an 8.5% increase in total attendance for the year to 3.5m.
That trend is motoring ahead as last month saw the debut of the European Grand Prix in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, giving a record 21 races this year.